Best Western Hotels & Resorts Accelerates Asia Expansion

Best Western brands expand in Asia, poised for growth and superior guest satisfaction in 2019.

Phoenix, Arizona (December 28, 2018) - Best Western Hotels & Resorts is celebrating another successful year in Asia, with the introduction of innovative new brands and award-winning hospitality to even more guests across the fast-growing region in 2018.

Throughout the year, the company continued to expand its footprint in a series of key Asian markets, including Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand. In total, Best Western now operates a portfolio of 56 hotels and resorts across Southeast Asia and Japan, offering more than 5,000 rooms – regional inventory that is set to more than double in the coming years, with more than 6,800 comfortable and contemporary rooms set to open across Asia. In total, Best Western has 37 hotels in its Asian pipeline, covering seven of the company’s 13 industry-leading brands.

“This year has been a hugely successful and rewarding one for Best Western in Asia,” said Ron Pohl, Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for Best Western Hotels & Resorts. “As a company, we are currently undertaking the most exciting period of expansion in our rich 72-year history, following the launch of a series of ground-breaking brand concepts. These include Vīb, our cutting-edge upper midscale concept, which will make its debut in Asia in January 2019, and our two newest brands, Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel.”

In Indonesia, the opening of Best Western Senayan Hotel in Jakarta and Best Western Kindai Hotel in Banjarmasin reflect the company’s commitment to serving a wide variety of destinations, from key cities to emerging markets.

In Japan, Best Western Plus Hotel Fino Chitose and Best Western Hotel Fino Tokyo Akihabara both opened this year, catering to the rising number of domestic and international travelers as the country prepares to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Vietnam is another strategic target market for Best Western, where in 2018, the company signed new agreements for Best Western Premier Cam Ranh Seahorse Beach Resort, Best Western Premier Quang Binh, Best Western Premier Sapphire Ha Long and Best Western Plus Ha Long Bay, all of which are scheduled to welcome guests starting in 2020. These spectacular hotels and resorts, featuring a combined total of over 2,200 rooms, will bring high quality international accommodations to a series of rapidly emerging destinations.

Best Western also continued its expansion in Thailand this year signing Best Western Plus Speech Pattaya and The Title V Rawai Phuket, BW Premier Collection by Best Western, both of which are on track to open within the next two years. Finally, in the Philippines, Best Western signed its first SureStay® hotel, SureStay Plus by Best Western Regency Angeles City Clark, which is scheduled to open its doors in the second quarter of 2019.

As Best Western looks ahead for its plans in Asia, 2019 will bring a host of debuts: Vīb Sanampao in Bangkok, which will be Asia’s first Vīb® hotel; the launch of SureStay Plus by Best Western Shin-Osaka, the first SureStay Hotel in Japan; the opening of Tawaravadee Resort, BW Signature Collection by Best Western, Asia’s first BW Signature Collection® hotel; and the launch of Best Western Plus Osaka Kitahama and Best Western Plus The Beachfront Resort, which will become the first Best Western Plus® hotels in Osaka and Phuket respectively.

Best Western will also return to the popular Thai resort town of Pattaya in 2019 with the opening of Best Western Premier BayPhere Pattaya. This hotel will be complemented by the highly-anticipated debut of BluPhere Pattaya, BW Premier Collection by Best Western in 2020.

“We will now bring our award-winning hospitality to even more guests across the region,” commented Olivier Berrivin, Best Western Hotels & Resorts’ Managing Director of International Operations – Asia. “With our expanded portfolio of industry-leading brands, Best Western is in a position to serve guests and developers in almost every sector of the market. In the coming months and years, we will launch outstanding new hotels and resorts in key strategic markets all across Asia, including Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.”

The future of Best Western in Asia holds even more promise as the company continues to build its collection of industry-leading brands. In September, the company introduced a pair of unique boutique brands, upscale Sadie HotelSM and upper-midscale Aiden HotelSM. Created as conversion brands, these two chic offerings enable developers to reposition existing properties and enhance the value of their assets. The world’s first Aiden Hotel opened last month in Seoul, South Korea, and Sadie Hotel is expected to arrive in Asia in the near future.

About Best Western® Hotels & Resorts:Best Western Hotels & Resorts headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is a privately held hotel brand with a global network of over 4,200 hotels in nearly 100 countries and territories worldwide*. Best Western offers 13 hotel brands to suit the needs of developers and guests in every market: Best Western®, Best Western Plus®, Best Western Premier®, Vīb®, GLō®, Executive Residency by Best Western®, Sadie HotelSM, Aiden HotelSM, BW Premier Collection® by Best Western, and BW Signature Collection® by Best Western, as well as its recently launched franchise offerings: SureStay® Hotel by Best Western, SureStay Plus® Hotel by Best Western and SureStay Collection® by Best Western**. Now celebrating more than 70 years of hospitality, Best Western provides its hoteliers with global operational, sales and marketing support, and award-winning online and mobile booking capabilities. Best Western continues to set industry records regarding awards and accolades, including 66 percent of the brand’s North American hotels earning a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award in 2018, Business Travel News® ranking Best Western Plus and Best Western number one in upper-mid-price and mid-price hotel brands respectively for two consecutive years, and Fast Company honoring Best Western Hotels & Resorts with a spot in the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in the Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality category. Best Western has also won 10 consecutive AAA®/CAA® Lodging Partner of the Year awards, recognizing the brand’s commitment to providing exceptional service and great value to AAA/CAA’s nearly 60 million members in the U.S. and Canada. Best Western-branded hotels were top ranked in breakfast (food and beverage category) by J.D. Power’s 2018 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study – ranking first for midscale; and second for upper midscale. Over 37 million travelers are members of the brand’s award-winning loyalty program Best Western Rewards®, one of the few programs in which members earn points that never expire and can be redeemed at any Best Western-branded hotel worldwide. Best Western’s partnerships with AAA/CAA and Google® Street View provide travelers with exciting ways to interact with the brand. Through its partnership with Google Street View, Best Western is the first major company of its size and scale to launch a virtual reality experience for customers, setting a new industry standard and reinventing how guests view hotels.

* Numbers are approximate, may fluctuate, and include hotels currently in the development pipeline.

**All Best Western and SureStay branded hotels are independently owned and operated.